Unless there is some last minute deal, it appears inevitable that pilots with WestJet will be going on strike, or locked out by the employer early Friday Morning.
This is going to impact WestJet passengers all across the country.
In Regina, there is a key aspect of this that isn’t generally known. The pilots who are going on strike fly WestJet’s Boeing 737 and 787 aircraft also known as the “mainline fleet”.
This does not impact the Q-400 turbo prop aircraft that generally perform “short hops” from Regina to places like Calgary, Winnipeg and Edmonton. Its known as the “Encore Fleet”. Those flights may be unaffected.
James Bogusz, President and CEO of the Regina Airport Authority says if the strike or lock out goes ahead, people on the “mainline” fleet aircraft could find their flight cancelled with little or no notice. WestJet began proactively cancelling some flights in the hours leading up to the deadline of Friday Morning.
“This does not impact WestJet’s “Encore Fleet” of aircraft, but many people may connect to other flights from places like Edmonton or Calgary after flying from Regina, so you have to check to see if those other flights have been impacted”.
Bogusz says the airport is about as ready as it can be for this kind of situation. “We will be adding airport staff through the long weekend to help answer customer questions to help people as best they can.”
Bogusz says if travelers don’t feel like taking the chance of being caught up in the potential disruption to contact WestJet right away. Bogusz notes WestJet has several options for passengers including refunds, re-books, or credit for paid fares.
“We are hopeful WestJet will be able to resolve these issues, and things will carry on as normal” Bogusz says “But given the short deadline, its very likely there will be significant disruptions for people using that airline” Air Canada and other airlines are not affected by this labour dispute.
Earlier this week the pilots filed 72 hour strike notice, and a short time later WestJet served 72 hour lock out notice. Talks between the two parties since then have failed to yield a new agreement.
